Right in Front of Me
by ericwinter
Summary: After Sasuke once again slips through their fingers, Sakura disappears to be alone. Naruto follows her in worry, and asks a question that makes Sakura doubt her devotion to the Uchiha, and wonder if what she was looking for might actually be right in front of her. Disclaimer: I own nothing.


"Sakura?" The pinkette's head jerked up at her name, looking to the edge of the roof she was sitting on. Her lips tilted upwards into a bitter smile when she saw who had called her.

"Oh, hey Naruto. What did you want?" She asked, fighting to keep her tone even. She didn't really want company right now, but didn't feel like yelling and scolding Naruto like usual.

"Nothing, just… You disappeared as soon as we got back. I went looking for you." Sakura winced, turning back to the view of the sunset she had been watching before her teammate's arrival, her legs dangling over the edge of the roof.

"I'm fine Naruto. I just needed some space to think." The pinkette couldn't help the hint of annoyance that slipped into her tone. For a moment, as Naruto was silent, she hoped he had gotten the message and decided to leave. A second later, she was disabused of that notion when he plopped down beside her, earning a quick glance before Sakura returned her attention to the view. They were quiet for a few moments, and Sakura was just starting to think maybe she could ignore Naruto's presence entirely, when the peace was shattered once again by the blonde's voice.

"Why do you like Sasuke so much?" Sakura froze at the name, memories of just a few hours previous flooding had him within their grasp, he even came within inches of Naruto, and yet again the boy she had been chasing since their academy days slipped away. It hurt to to think about, and Sakura was forced to shut her eyes in order to push the thoughts away enough to talk through the pain.

"What do you mean?" She said in a strained voice, and even an academy student wouldn't've missed the sound of Naruto's uneasy shifting beside her.

"I made a promise to bring him back, and I will, but Sakura, you saw him back there. He didn't even look at you, as if you were nothing, and now you're up here crying because of it." Finally, Sakura forced her eyes open, and turned to meet Naruto's. Before, he had been backdropped by the sun and cast into shadows, but now that the blonde was closer, his features were thrown into a sharp relief for Sakura. His cerulean blue eyes, usually so full of light and life, were darkened with concern, and as Sakura looked into them, she felt her breath catch. For a moment, the thought of just how wrong they looked, so broken and tired, flitted through her mind. It just didn't seem like Naruto, and a sudden desire to fix them surged through her. Even his near perpetual smile was missing, his mouth set in a hard line as he looked to Sakura for answers, and the sight of it had Sakura suddenly gulping as her heart thumped painfully. "I've been trying so hard to get him back for you, because _you_ asked me to. I guess… I'm just wondering why I'm fighting so hard, is all."

Sakura was once again forced to close her eyes as Naruto's words washed over her, threatening to drown the pinkette in guilt. It was completely true. Naruto had fought Sasuke, even taken an entire fistful of lightning to the lung, for her. Naruto had suffered so long and so much, even being forced to leave the village and home he had loved so much for a three year training trip, because of her. "I… I don't know."

When the words slipped out, Sakura slapped a hand to her mouth in surprise. She hadn't meant to say that! Before she could apologize and explain, however, Naruto looked away, and the words were stuck in her throat. He had seemed so… broken, in that last moment, when his face fell and the last glimmer of hope died in his eyes. But Sakura couldn't really take the words back. As she stared at her teammate, who was looking at the sunset as if it was the last he would ever see, the truth of Sakura's words rang through her like a bell. She really didn't know why she liked Sasuke, or was so desperate to bring him back to Konoha. At first, it had been because he was the cool, quiet guy in the back of class, so handsome and mysterious. Then, when she heard about the Uchiha massacre, and how Sasuke had been left all alone and emotionally scarred by the brutal slaughter of his clan, she, like most other girls in their class, fancied herself to be the one who could heal him, to be the one to save the wounded little boy from the darkness that was surely consuming him. It had been childish, really, and maybe even just a desperate wish of her own for acceptance. She had been so needy, so pushy because she wanted someone to love her, to be wanted and needed by somebody else. And when Sasuke ran, abandoning Konoha and by extension her, she had been so lost that she pushed Naruto into bringing him back for her own selfish reasons.

Now, as Sakura looked at the face of the boy she had hurt so badly all that time ago, who she had forced her own failures on until he felt like they were his own, her thoughts drifted back to those days when Sasuke had been with them, and they were still Team Seven. She had always been so focused on Sasuke, so ignorant of everything else, that it was actually embarrassing when she thought about it. But that wasn't what really caught her attention, or the memories that sparked as she tried to find some hint of softness in the brutally hard chips of blue Naruto's eyes had become. It was the moments when, rare as they were, Sakura had taken her attention away from her dark-haired teammate for a few moments and given it to their light-haired one.

Naruto had always been loud, and rambunctious, in those early days, and he still carried a good deal of that energy with him to the present day, but it was his eyes that she remembered, so full of life and determination and _kindness._ He had always been unerringly kind and loyal, even to the point of stupidity, and Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she remembered the times Naruto had risked his life for hers. There was Orochimaru in the forest of death, when he literally jumped in front of a giant snake to rescue his teammates, and then the time when he wrestled Gaara of the sand to free Sakura from the red-head's crushing grasp.

All these thoughts and more flashed through Sakura's mind, and she suddenly found her hand reaching up without bidding, touching Naruto's cheek lightly. When he turned and met her eyes with his surprised one's, her breath once again caught in her chest, and before she could stop she was leaning in to press her lips to his, eyes fluttering shut as she pressed her body close to his surprisingly solid one.

Sakura held the kiss for just a few seconds, long enough for her conscious thoughts to finally regain control and pull away with a slight blush. Her eyes wide, she searched Naruto's face for any sign of reaction, but it was frozen in surprise. As one long moment dragged into the next, Sakura started to grow fearful, and words started to spill out of her mouth unbidden.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that and I know that I've been horrible to you and I don't deserve it, but-"

"Stop." Suddenly, Sakura was cut off by a hand on her lips. Now, it seemed Naruto was searching her face, and she held her breath in anticipation of his verdict. "Explain. Now." Struck by the hardness of his tone, Sakura recoiled, lowering her eyes away from his unchanging face down to focus on her hands, which were now wringing together in her lap.

"I… don't like Sasuke anymore, not really. I just realized that, and why." As she spoke, Sakura felt his stare on her, and every word came with even greater difficulty as the lump in her throat grew. "He's a sick, sadistic, selfish bastard who doesn't care for anyone except himself and his damned revenge. I never really loved him. Hell, I barely even knew him. I was just desperate for something, anything that could have meaning, for someone to love me. I hoped that if I gave enough, or cared enough, that it might be enough, but it wasn't. And now, I just realized that what I was looking for was right in front of me, realized that I…" She couldn't say it, the words she so desperately needed to put out there unable to get past what now felt like an entire boulder blocking her airway. Those last two words, ones she had always said towards one teammate, but never even stopped to think might be meant for the other, were stuck, and for a tiny second, she feared that she might never be able to say them to the one who truly deserved them.

It was as she sat there, struggling so hard to finally admit to herself what she truly felt, that a hand was suddenly clasping her own, stopping their incessant wringing, and another caressed her cheek, turning her face up to once again look into the cerulean blue eyes she realised had always captivated her whether she realized it or not.

"Say it. Please." His eyes, previously dark with pain, were now full of pleading, a need so strong that suddenly Sakura found herself able to speak, the words slipping out like a seal through water.

"I love you." This time, the kiss lasted much longer, and was filled with far more passion. The hand clenching Sakura's reached up to cup around the other half of her face, even as the one already there slid around to the back of her neck, and then down to the small of her back, pressing the pinkette close to its owner's body. Sakura herself reached up, her hands moving to bury themselves in the thick mane of blonde hair, fulfilling a desire so secret even she hadn't been aware of it. Fter a few seconds of awkward twisting, the kunoichi took the initiative, lifting herself up and over Naruto, spinning until she was in his lap entirely, her slim frame being supported by her knees. Her partner didn't seem to mind, the hand on her face, dropping to join the other in dancing about her waist with feather-light touches. Their breaths came faster and faster, their hands slowly exploring further, and for one wild moment, Sakura imagined that they might actually undress and make love right there, on the edge of a roof with the sunset shining behind them.

It stopped suddenly, Naruto's hands stilling on her hips, and their owner pulling back slightly with just the slightest pressure to convince Sakura to allow it. "Wait." His voice was breathless, and his eyes shining as he looked into hers. That was the only thing that kept the sudden fear that she had done something wrong at bay. "I need to know that this is something you really want, and not just some cruel joke." Sakura, aghast at the suggestion, searched his face, but found nothing other than an earnestness that took her breath away. Naruto truly was afraid that she was just messing with him, teasing the blonde with something he had obviously desired for a long time, and it broke her heart. She had mistreated him for so long, shown him such disdain, that she couldn't blame him for it, but now she was determined to fix those mistakes, and to show him just how much he truly deserved to be loved. She cupped his face in her hands, their breath mingling between them as she did her best to show the entirety of the love she had found buried deep within herself with her mint green eyes and the softest smile she had ever given.

"Yes, oh Kami yes i want this. I love you Naruto, more than I even thought possible. Please, let me give you this."She waited with bated breath until he finally gave her a tiny nod.

"OKay then. I'll trust you. I think I know a better place than this though." Sakura, a bit of curiosity breaking through the desire she could still building within her, tilted her head slightly.

"Where?" Naruto answered with a roguish grin that stole her breath, and a quick peck on the lips.

"I'll show you."

XXX

Sakura rolled over with a groan, the bright light pulling her from a highly comfortable sleep. She was just about to call out in annoyance to her mom asking why the curtains were open, when she paused, her outstretched hand colliding with something that was most definitely the wall next to her bed at home, despite its hardness.

Slowly, unsure of why exactly there was a man beside her, Sakura opened her eyes to find a familiar whiskered face just a few inches away from her own, blonde hair mixing with her own pink to create a surprisingly cute framing. She started with a yelp, unable to believe what she was seeing as she sat up, knocking a stray arm off her stomach in the process.

The pinkette glanced around herself frantically, a heavy blush coming over her features as she remembered the previous night, and all of its… activities. Now that she was paying attention, she realized that the material under her wasn't a soft mattress, but actually the hardness of stone, and sunlight wasn't filtering in through a window so much as suffusing the entire open air around them. They were on top of the Hokage monument, with only a few blankets to protect the pair from the elements.

Sakura turned to look at her partner with wide eyes, but they softened after falling on his face. He looked so content, so innocent as the arm she had accidentally tossed off curled around her naked waist again, and Sakura let him draw her close once again. Tucked against the solid torso in a manner reminiscent of how she remembered ending the night before, the pinkette smiled slightly. After their departure from the rooftop, Sakura had failed to find even a hint of the pain and sadness she had begun to watch for in Naruto's eyes, and she considered it a personal success. If she never saw it again, it would be too early.

Sakura ran a hand down her bed-partner's jaw, giggling slightly as he sneezed in his sleep. She had never imagined the blonde might actually be considered _cute,_ of all things. She hadn't ever thought of him as attractive either, to be honest, distracted as she was by Sasuke, but now she marveled at just how incredibly handsome Naruto really was. Even as her eyes traced every inch of him she could find, the pinkette wondered just how exactly no one had ever laid claim to him before, and she secretly admitted to herself she was glad that was the case. Sakura didn't know what she might have done had she realized her feelings too late.

As she pulled her hand back and continued to watch Naruto breathe in and out with a small smile on her face, Sakura felt something… _shift,_ inside her. With a start, the kunoichi sat up again, although she was careful not to jostle Naruto in the process. Not quite sure what she was doing, Sakura gathered a tiny sliver of medical chakra in her hand and cast a diagnosis jutsu. A moment later, she gasped at the results, her eyes flitting back to Naruto's innocently sleeping face. No, this could not be happening. With only a slight pause, Sakura cast another diagnosis, all the blood draining from her face when she received the results.

"Oh dear." She was pregnant.


End file.
